When Should You Worry About Your House Not Selling?

Putting your house on the open market brings with it all kinds of challenges and issues. You have to tidy, prepare for viewings, choose an estate agent, and set an asking price amongst other worries and stresses.

The last thing you want to worry about is your home not selling. However, this is a reality that many homeowners may find themselves facing.

In Zoopla's latest article from January 2025 they've taken a detailed look at the average time it takes to sell a property:

In this blog post, we will be looking at the reasons why you may be struggling to sell, what your selling options are, and how we can help you sell in as little as 7 days...

Table of Contents

• Is your asking price too high?

• Reasons why your house might not be selling

• What other reasons might there be for my house taking longer to sell?

• What should you NOT say when selling a house?

• The house just won't sell. What are my options?

• Frequently asked questions

Is your asking price too high?

Before diving into the multiple reasons that you might be struggling to sell your home, the single most significant issue is almost always your asking price.

It doesn't take much searching around to find out the asking price is usually the main issue. You can see this article by Sandra Davidson estate agents that ranks "You're Asking Too Much" as the number one issue.

Overpricing your property can be a fatal move when it comes to house sales. Asking too much for your property will turn buyers away and will result in you spending much longer on the market than is ideal. 

Unfortunately, the expectation on price might not be your fault - it's a common estate agent trick to overprice houses on their initial valuation to get you signed up on a long-term contract.

You have to be very careful when putting your property up for sale that you're doing so for the right price. The initial listing on property portals like Rightmove is when you will get the most interest, and constant drops in asking price may prompt questions, and potential buyers may act more cautiously, assuming something is wrong with the property.

In summary, the lower your asking price, the faster the sale. It's the common time vs money debate.

So, how do I know if my house is overpriced?

So the next question you might have is how you know whether the asking price is the ACTUAL issue.

Thankfully, there are several tell-tale signs that your property is overpriced. The biggest and most obvious sign is that you have had no prospective buyers round to view your property within the first two weeks of being on the market.

When you first put your home on the market, you should be getting a decent amount of views on any online property portal you are marketing on, such as Rightmove, Zoopla or OnTheMarket.

You can actually request these statistics from your estate agent, and almost every time, you should see a spike upon listing (or any reduction).

If this isn't the case, then alarm bells should be ringing.

Other warning signs you shouldn't ignore include: 

• Your asking price is much higher than other similar properties in the area.

• Other properties in your local area are selling quickly, but yours remains. 

• Receiving offers but having buyers pull out due to mortgage companies valuing less than the buyer offered. 

• Getting viewings but no offers

What you need to remember about house prices, is that they're only worth what buyers are willing to pay. This case study from Reddit, really highlights this issue well:

Reasons why your house might not be selling

As we mentioned earlier, there are many reasons why your property may not be selling, and it's not just exclusively asking price.

From our experience as property buyers since 2012, and estate agents through The Property Selling Company, we have a lot of experience when it comes to knowing what may result in a house taking a longer time than average to sell.

Below, we have detailed some of the most common reasons for you below: 

What other reasons might there be for my house taking longer to sell?

We've taken a comprehensive look at several reasons that your property might not be selling within the timeframe that you expected, but for the most part, these are all reasons that you have control over.

What about the reasons that you don't? There are, unfortunately, a few reasons that your home may simply take longer than others, and you might have to adjust your expectations accordingly or look at alternative options.

Your Houses Value

We've spoken a lot about your "asking price" and whether it's in the right ballpark compared to other local properties, but what if we told you there can be occasions where you're asking price is correct.. but still the problem.

Confusing, we know. Let us explain...

Sometimes, more expensive houses can take much longer to sell, as the pool of buyers who can afford the property is a lot smaller.

Average house prices are average for a reason; it's the price that the majority of buyers are willing to and able to pay - it's the largest pool of buyers, and the higher your property is over that, generally speaking, the longer it will take to sell.

If you're property is far more expensive than the local area average, then you need to adjust your expectations.

"Multimillion-dollar properties take 400 percent longer to sell than median-priced homes", according to the latest Luxury Homes Index.

The Type of Property

Although you have no control over it, the type of property that you are looking to sell will also impact your overall sale time, and whether you should be concerned.

Percentage differ depending on location and time of the year, but generally, across the country, you'll find that sale times generally go in this order:

1. Semi Detached

2. Terraced

3. Flat/Apartment

Semi-detached and terrace properties are usually quite close in sale time, but flats usually take a lot longer to sell on the open market.

Area

The average time it takes to sell your property is extremely area-dependent. If you're worried about how long your home is taking to sell on the open market, you should do some research on your specific area, type and price to determine if you're significantly higher than the average.

From our experience, the best resource to do this is the time to sell tool by Home.co.uk.

The above graphic displays the "LS22" postcode area average sale times for different price bands over the last 90 days (09/07/2025) - Home.co.uk

What should you NOT say when selling a house?

When hosting viewings, it is natural that your buyers may have questions for you. We would always recommend accommodating these questions and answering them to the best of your knowledge, as this will help with the sale, and even anything that could be highlighted during the RICs survey phase of the sale journey.

However, there are certain questions that we would recommend avoiding answering if you can, and it's not about hiding issues from the buyers, but more about protecting your interests and trying to maximise the amount you get for your property.

• Your reasons for selling

Revealing your reasons for selling might weaken your negotiating position. If they are aware of your urgency or motivation, it may give them more encouragement to provide a low-ball offer.

• How long have you been on the market? 

If you're house has been on the market for a long time, then it could be a red flag to buyers and put them off your property, even if there's no valid reason for it.

They could think that they're missing an issue with the property that other prospective buyers have seen and therefore not bid.

There's no real benefit to you as the seller when answering this question.

• If you are willing to negotiate

This might kick-start negotiations, and that's probably not something you want to do quickly, face to face.

You should deflect this question and ask them to put any offers through the estate agent. This allows you time to think about it, and reply through the proper channels.

• If you are under time pressure to move

This relates to your reason for selling, but they could ask if you have a property lined up that you're looking to move to. Again, giving them this information will let them know your working with a time restriction, and are probably more likely to take a lower offer.

The house just won't sell. What are my options?

 When it comes to selling a property you can't seem to shift, it may feel as though you have no options.

However, this is not the case. Whilst an estate agent may feel like the only option, there are many routes out there. The two most popular ways to sell a house besides with an estate agent are either through a property auction, or you can sell through a cash buyer. As with any selling option, there are pros and cons to each of these. Below, we take a deep dive into each of these choices and the pros and cons that they bring. 

Property Auction

If you have been stuck on the market for months and are starting to get doubtful that your house will sell, then a property auction is a route well worth exploring. Property auctions are ideal for those with an unusual property that they wish to sell.

A big advantage to selling through a property auction is that it tends to attract serious buyers. This is because once the gavel goes down, the winning bid becomes legally binding, meaning if a buyer tries to pull out they will not be able to do so without facing legal consequences. 

Another advantage to selling through a property auction is that auctioneers have a lot of experience in selling properties that have spent a lot of time on the open market, as well as problem properties. 

However, it is worth bearing in mind that this method of selling can also bring with it some downsides. One such drawback is that selling on an action involves a lot of waiting, which if you are looking for a quick sale or have already been on the property market for months is not ideal.

Once you have listed your property with the auction house, you will then have to wait for the next auction, which could be months away. 

Even once you have a buyer, you will still need to wait for the paperwork to be completed and processed which can take a month or more and adds to the delay. 

On top of this, the auction house will then take a percentage of the sale price to cover the cost of marketing and selling your home, which can eat away at the profit you get from the sale. 

Cash Buyers (That's Us!)

If you are looking to get your property off the market and sell your house fast, then a cash buyer could be the route for you. Unlike a property auction, a cash buyer is able to purchase your property as soon as you are ready to sell. No more waiting for the next auction sale or for the sale to go through.

The exact timeline it takes to sell your property with a cash buyer varies from company to company, but here at The Property Buying Company, we can do it in as little as 7 days. 

Another upside to selling through a cash buyer is that you can say goodbye to estate agents' fees. And as an added bonus, when you sell with us, you not only avoid the estate agent's fees but also the legal fees associated with selling your home. 

The Property Buying Company, are here to help. 

We are proud to offer a free, fast, and hassle-free way to sell your home. We will buy any house, in any condition, and in any location! If you don't want to spend months on the open market looking for a buyer, we can purchase your home in a timeline that suits you, whether that's three months from now or in as little as 7 days.

We are also proud members of the National Association of Property Buyers and The Property Ombudsman, as well as being rated excellent on Trustpilot.

Unlike an estate agent, we only require one quick viewing to make sure our cash offer is correct. Once you have accepted the offer, that is the amount that you will get in cash in full in your bank!

Plus, as a thank you for choosing us, we will cover all of the solicitor and conveyancer fees typically associated with selling a home - It's just one of the ways we make selling easy.

Ready to sell fast and for free and get off the open market for good? Then give us a call today or fill in our online valuation form to receive a no-obligation CASH offer which we could have in your bank in as little as 7 days...

Frequently asked questions